I Wish I Was Better With Names

March 20, 2010:

A surprise call from Patrick kick-started the day.

“Hey, Nate,” he said, “Are you up to anything today?”
“Well, I got a movie and a friend’s Housewarming party tonight,” I replied, “Why? What’s up?”
“I’m heading to Van Nuys,” said Patrick, “I’m picking up some monster making supplies. I’d love it if you could come along.”
“Sounds sexy. As long as we’re back before 7:00, I’m game,” I answered.

We agreed that he would drive and he picked me up from my place. We headed to Lee’s Sandwiches for lunch, and I filled him in on the plans for the movie, which was The Runaways at around 7:50 pm, to meet up with Jamal and Justin. This would be followed by a Housewarming party. I invited Patrick to the movie, but didn’t feel I could invite him to someone else’s party. He was down to see the movie.

Topics of Conversation @ Lee’s: Free Fritos, Dan Akroyd vodka, large quantities of texting, dark endings, fake Japanese, the girlfriend’s parents and the terror they induce, etc.

The road to Van Nuys was busy and I became sleepy as the ride continued. A Food Coma was imminent. So Patrick passed me a figurines and model book he had procured from Japan. The creatures and designs reminded me of a cross between Akira, Hellraiser, and Heavy Metal. The book was very impressive.

We arrived at a place called “Frends,” which was packed full of makeup, fake blood, and all the necessary supplies to make movie magic. As we walked into the back, we turned the corner and facing us as a gentleman in his 80’s. Patrick’s face immediately lit up and I knew I was going to feel dumb. Because Patrick knew who the old man was, but I didn’t have much of an idea. They chit-chatted for a bit, and I shook the old man’s hand. And finally caught his name:

Dick Smith.

Great. At least his name didn’t ring any bells at all.

It wasn’t until after that Patrick was able to fill me in on Dick Smith’s background. And, as it turned out, he was the makeup artist for The Exorcist, and loads of other movies. Holy cow! That was amazing. And it was my inability to remember names very well that really messed me up.

Argh.

After that, we went to BevMo so that I could pick up some Virgil’s Root Beer for my friend Charlee’s birthday the next day. With the Root Beer in hand, we headed back to the OC. I suggested going to Brewbakers, just so that Patrick could get a taste of the good food and beverages to be had there, and to kill time till I was able to get a hold of Jamal for the Housewarming party. We also headed to Comics Unlimited to kill some time. Lainey was there, and she looked like she was ready for the shift to be over. The call came, and Patrick and I were soon on our way to see The Runaways with Jamal over at the Krikorian Theater in Buena Park.

Unfortunately, another call from Patrick’s dad came in. As it turned out, his dad had been having some construction workers over to work on the driveway. And the driveway had a lot of rubble still sitting around, blocking people from being able to park in the driveway. But instead of having the workers move the rubble as part of their day, he figured it would be better that he get his son to come home and move the rocks.

And yes, there is plenty of parking on the street.

So Patrick, had to leave me in Jamal’s questionable hands at the theater. We watched The Runaways, and Justin joined us about 10 minutes into the flick.

The Runaways isn’t a bad flick. In fact, I have some personal connection to the movie because some of the scenes from the movie were shot at my work, at Norwalk City Hall. I was actually there for some of the shooting. I even said hello to Kristin Stewart (who is a tiny person). And Joan Jett was there too, (who is also a tiny person).

As for the film… for a movie titled “The Runaways,” there was very little about the Runaways. Its mostly a bio piece about Cherie Currie, the front woman. Joan Jett is there, but you get very, very little about her in this film. We meet Cherie’s entire family, get her entire backstory, and all the pain she felt throughout the movie. Joan Jett… is a lesbian(?) with a need to be in a rock band. That’s about it. There’s hints about an unhappy home life, but we get nothing else. Makes me wonder if Joan wanted to have very much about herself known in this movie.

As for the other members, like the drummer, the bassist, and the other guitarist, um… really, you’re guess is as good as mine. And that’s even taking into account that you most likely haven’t seen the movie. Yeah. But still a well done flick, if a bit too fast paced.

After the movie, Justin, Jamal, and myself headed over to our friend Bobby’s Housewarming. He and his girlfriend Gina had just moved into their own apartment, and the place was pretty snazzy. I brought some Blue Moon beer, and we all sat down for a night of new and old memories and good laughs.

Topics of Conversation @ the Housewarming: Bill the Mighty, poor decisions made with sketchy information, two bathrooms, how to be the Queen of Hosts, Thankstakings of yesteryear, Ikea picture frames and their limitless quantity, Peppermint Schnapps, the last word on a questionable friend, Ghandi Ball, the misleading music setup, autistic Batman, etc.

-Nate